Recipe: Holiday Breakfast Wreath

I've been writing about this wreath on the site since 2008, each year updating the story, because I think it's worth reminding you how perfect this bread is to start a holiday morning. When I say I make it every year, I'm not kidding. It weaves its way deeper and deeper into our family's memory each holiday.

Of all the Christmas gifts my mom has given me, the one I remember most and the one that is still with me is the tradition of cooking and eating on Christmas, and it is one that I'm now passing down to my daughter.

I'm sure there were toys and books, and I vaguely remember something in the early eighties about a sought-after Esprit outfit, but the holiday memories that stick out most in my mind are the meals. On Christmas Eve, we threw a tamale party, and the Christmas morning tradition was always a big spread of scrambled eggs, bratwurst, Mexican hot chocolate, and a braided Christmas bread from the tattered pages of a 1978 Sunset Magazine. Those breakfasts were gifts enough.

The original bread recipe included a filling that called for teeth-shattering candied red and green cherries. The past few years I've skipped those in favor of dried cranberries plumped up with brandy. Of course you can use other dried fruits, but avoid the kind that are preserved with sulphur dioxide and sweetened with high fructose corn syrup if you can. In my recipe redux here, I also upped the amounts of filling and glaze — the "saucing" as my daughter says.

This is our gift to each other this year. My daughter, now eight, will add her hands to the braiding effort and continue this cycle of absorbing holiday food traditions from the generations of cooks before her.

When you bake this Holiday Breakfast Wreath, present it to someone you love, still warm, with two hands. It is more than enough.

Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and let it foam up for a minute or two. Blend in the milk, sugar, butter, salt, cardamom, eggs and lemon peel. Stir in two cups of the flour, one cup at a time. Beat for 2 minutes. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a soft, workable dough — you might not need to use all the flour.

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. Add more flour if needed to prevent sticking. Place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl large enough to accommodate dough when doubled in size. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Prepare the cranberry-almond filling: Drain the dried fruit from the liqueur and reserve the liqueur for another use. In a small bowl, combine the drained fruit with remaining filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

Shape the dough: When dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured board, kneading just enough to release any air bubbles. Roll the dough into a 9x30-inch rectangle. Crumble the filling over the dough to within 1 inch of the edges. Starting along a long side, tightly roll up the dough, pinching edge against loaf to seal. With a sharp knife, cut roll in half lengthwise. Carefully turn the halves so the cut sides are facing up, and then loosely twist the halves around each other, keeping cut sides up. (See photos above for step-by-step instructions.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick baking mat. Carefully transfer the rope to the baking sheet and shape into a wreath, pinching the ends together to seal. Let it rise, uncovered, in a warm place until puffy, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the wreath until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. While the wreath is baking, stir together the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.

When wreath is done, transfer to a cooling rack by picking up the sides of the parchment and then sliding the parchment out from underneath. Cool for a few minutes then drizzle the glaze over the warm wreath. Serve with extra butter if you're feeling decadent.

Recipe Notes

Make Ahead Wreath: The wreath can be baked up to 2 days ahead of time. Do not glaze the loaf — let the wreath cool completely, then wrap tightly in foil and store at room temperature. Re-heat the bread at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes, and drizzle with the glaze just before serving.